WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2007--The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today announced an adjustment to the user fees charged for veterinary diagnostic services. These user fees will be increased incrementally beginning Jan. 18, 2008, and continuing through fiscal year 2012 to reflect the rising cost of providing diagnostic services each year.

APHIS charges fees for its veterinary diagnostic services, or the laboratory work involved in identifying and diagnosing disease-causing organisms or chemical agents in animals. Specifically, APHIS will adjust user fees for the following services:

Laboratory tests performed as part of isolation and identification testing at NVSL;

Laboratory tests performed as part of serology testing at NVSL;

Laboratory tests performed at the pathobiology laboratory at NVSL;

Diagnostic reagents produced at NVSL or other authorized sites; and

Other diagnostic services or materials provided at NVSL.

In addition to the role veterinary diagnostic services play in protecting American agriculture, they enhance livestock production, trade and research. The new schedule of fee increases will help ensure that the fees accurately reflect the cost of providing these important services.

A list of diagnostic services and the fees involved is available on the APHIS veterinary services Web site at:
/animal_health/lab_info_services/
diagnos_tests.shtml/.

This final rule is scheduled for publication in the Dec. 19
Federal Register and becomes effective Jan. 18, 2008.

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